Morgan ups style-factor with limited edition EV3

Morgan Motor Company introduced the all-electric EV3 at this year's Geneva Motor Show, after showing it as a concept last year. To make the car even more striking, it's teamed up with British department store Selfridges to create a special edition. The new UK 1909 Edition EV3 has a uniquely stylish appearance, celebrating more than 100 years of British design, engineering and style.

Only 19 examples of the special edition EV3 will be built, each one celebrating the year that both Morgan and Selfridges were established, 1909. Morgan plans to debut the car at the Salon Privé in September. The press release issued by the show doesn't say much about what makes the special edition special, just very vague descriptions like a blend of "Morgan's engineering know-how and iconic design with Selfridges' famous flair for fashion." Nine other British luxury brands will also be tied into the launch.

The single image included with the release (at top) makes a few details immediately clear, the most obvious being the reconfigured headlight design. In place of the asymmetrical triple headlights of the standard EV3, the 1909 has a quartet, with two mounted side by side, front and center. The thin fenders hugging the tires and the quilted leather inside the cabin are similar to what Morgan showed on the EV3 concept. There's also a cool, little split windscreen.

When it introduced it earlier this year, Morgan called this EV3 the final pre-production car(Credit: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)

"Great British design, technology and engineering is what the UK 1909 Edition EV3 is all about," says Morgan head of design Jon Wells. "We're delighted to be able to show the car to the world's press and publicly unveil at Salon Privé in September. Salon Privé combines style, luxury lifestyle and cars in one event, just like the UK 1909 Edition EV3 does, too!"

It doesn't sound as though the 1909 gets any added power or performance, and it will have the same 90 mph (145 km/h) top speed and range up to 150 miles (241 km), according to the press release. After appearing at the British Concours event, which runs from September 1 to 3, the £52,500 (approx. US$69K) three-wheeler will launch at Selfridges' Birmingham location on October 1 and at its London Oxford Street store on November 1.

The EV3 that debuted in Geneva was called the final pre-production car, and Morgan said at the time that production would begin in the fourth quarter of this year. In a progress update last month, it said that it had chosen Coventry-based Potenza as a manufacturing partner for the 120 V battery pack and accompanying high-voltage hardware. It had also initiated the road certification process.

The EV3 is powered by a 62-hp (46 kW) motor driving its single rear wheel with power from a 20 kWh lithium battery. It weighs just 1,102 lb (500 kg) and can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in around nine seconds.

Our gallery includes the single teaser photo of the UK 1909 Edition EV3 and a few photos of the standard EV3 and the 2015 EV3 concept for comparison.